English

Letters from our readers

On “Free Julian Assange! Hands off WikiLeaks!

 

 

It is easy for Dianne Feinstein to speak against Mr. Assange. She is covering her bank account and her privileges. What I would like to tell her is that you don’t need Mr. Assange to “damage your government”—you, politicians are doing a darn good job of it and one day the population will see through your web of crimes and will act according to their level of rage.

 

JV
Quebec, Canada
9 December 2010

 

On “US: Georgia prison inmates strike

 

I currently have a loved one at Smith State Prison. His name is Kenneth. He was beaten by three inmates and went to the hospital. Upon his return back to the prison, authorities placed him in solitary confinement. The incident took place on October 2, 2010. He has written a request to be transferred, with no success.

 

Since the inmates have been on strike, the inmates in solitary who cannot leave their one-person cell have eaten two sandwiches, at 4am and again at 4 or 5pm, no ice for the

little cup of water which they only receive at the meal times given. No one is doing the laundry, the prison is at a standstill.

 

Please help the inmates in solitary at Smith State Prison because they are really feeling the brutal effects of the inmates’ voluntary strike attempts. Even though they are really suffering, they are also in full support of their brother inmates and know it’s time for change. Please discuss the ones in solitude too.

 

 

Aiesha J
Texas, USA
13 December 2010

 

On “Obama tax proposal benefits wealthiest Americans while raising taxes on the poor

 

Last quarter, the major corporations made a net profit of 1.6 trillion dollars, just in one quarter! Did they apply their profits to job making? No. So now everyone is saying that the rich need this tax cut extended so they can apply it to jobs. I am outraged at what

this government is doing. And when we are totally broke, they are going to begin austerity programs like Greece and Portugal, in which one can only guess who gets hurt—the poor and middle class. They’ll cut Social Security more, so it will go downhill, thus they can privatize it. They’ll cut programs for the poor, schools, etc. I am outraged.

 

Patricia G
9 December 2010

 

***

 

Cutting the Social Security payroll tax will cause severe underfunding of Social Security and the expiration of this insanity comes during the 2012 election, when restoring the full 6.2 percent payroll tax will be a tax increase, an impossibility, so this will be permanent.

The day Obama signs this cut in the Social Security payroll tax is the day the Democratic Party is finally gone. We can say good riddance, but we need Social Security. Please make it clear to your readers that it will not be possible to restore the 6.2 percent Social Security payroll tax during an election year as it will be a tax increase and there will soon be no more Social Security.

 

End of Social Security = End of Democrats

 

 

9 December 2010

 

 

In remembrance of the poet Dickinson on the 130th anniversary of her birth (December 10, 1830)

 

“But world is sleeping in ignorance and error, sir, and we must be crowing cocks and singing larks, and a rising sun to awake her; or else we’ll pull society up to the roots and plant it in a different place.”

 

Emily Dickinson to George H. Gould, February, 1850

 

Randy R
Arizona, USA
10 December 2010

On “Howl: Allen Ginsberg and American culture in the 1950s

 

Thank you so much for this wonderful review. KM teases out the flaws of the film, and shines bright light not just on the film’s strengths, but the enduring meaning of the poem itself. The choices of quotes from the film are well made, and do much in themselves at showing what is important in art, in the poem, and in the era in which Ginsberg wrote it.

 

Christie S
Oregon, USA
9 December 2010

 

 

On “A reply to a letter on the Spanish air traffic controllers’ struggle

 

Very well put. The writer is probably an agent of the government, or even someone fronting for the privatizing interests. Or ill-informed. Whatever the case, an excellent rebuttal.

 

Michael S
9 December 2010

 

 

Loading